The Drawing Room
by drcjsnider
Summary: Three New Years Eves spent in the Malfoy's drawing room changes everything for Rose and Scorpius.


**Title:** The Drawing Room  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** 4042  
**Pairing:** Rose/Scorpius  
**Warnings:** Mention of Hermione's torture in Deathly Hallows. Language.  
**Summary:** Three New Years Eves spent in the Malfoy's drawing room changes everything for Rose and Scorpius.  
**A/N:** Written as a pinch-hit for the LJ spring_fling. **kate0404** asked for a detailed plot line, fluff, gradual development of feelings, a surprise ending, and comedy. I think I hit all of them, but the surprise ending. Her prompts were: **A Place:** Malfoy Manor, **An Item:** Celestina Warbeck concert tickets, **A Prompt:** Three holiday dinners gone completely wrong. I got the three holidays… no dinners though. Also, I stole some next gen 'supporting character' names from fics by **queensb23more** and **a_respite**. A BIG Spring Fling thanks goes out to my cute and sexy beta - **hondagirrl**, who looked at this under a very unreasonable timeline, and to the awesome **kalina_blue** for letting me miss my deadline without giving me a super-sized helping of grief.

When Scorpius Malfoy was sixteen he put his foot down. He didn't stomp it down, because that would have looked poncy. He just put it down and left it there and refused to move it no matter what his father threatened.

"I am NOT going to Morocco for New Years to visit Grandfather and Grandmother."

"I'll take away your broom," Draco stated coldly.

"Then I'll borrow Potter's."

"I'll cut off your allowance."

"There is nothing I need to purchase."

"You're going to end up sending me to an early grave."

_Good,_ Scorpius thought but was smart enough not to say it out loud.

"Draco, maybe we should let him stay. He can always spend an extra week with your parents this summer," Astoria entreated, trying to keep the peace between her husband and son.

"If we let him stay you know he'll just spend the time carousing with his friends," Draco replied with a frown.

"And what's so wrong with that?" Astoria asked.

"It's a wasteful, it's pointless, and it doesn't accomplish anything worthwhile."

Astoria smiled and patted Draco on the arm. "That sounds heavenly to me. Don't you wish you'd had a bit more time to carouse when you were sixteen?"

"Fine," Draco replied, scowling at Astoria. He turned toward Scorpius. "There will be no liquor, no girls, and no one sleeping in our bedroom."

Scorpius nodded. "Of course, Father. I just want to spend some time with my friends. We'll do nothing immoral, dangerous, or scandalous."

"Now, now, dear," Astoria said with a wink at Scorpius as her husband stalked out of the room. "We want you to have _some_ fun."

**New Years Eve 2023**

Rose knew she shouldn't be here. It was supposed to be a boy's night for the sixth year Slytherins. They were going to talk about the girls they wanted to shag, read old copies of _Playwizard Magazine_, and drink copious amounts of Firewhiskey. Although Rose had no intention in engaging in any of those activities and she thanked Merlin during every sorting ceremony that she wasn't a Slytherin, she had still forced her cousin Al to bring her to the party. Al had agreed reluctantly only after she promised to arrive covered by his father's invisibility cloak and leave as soon as she had looked around Malfoy Manor.

"I don't see why you are so bloody interested in the place," he had said as she sat on his bed watching him get ready. "It's just a house. It isn't that much different from Number twelve, Grimmauld Place, except the style is a bit more ornate and it's in the country rather than town, but still it is just a house."

"I'm a Ravenclaw. I'm curious. Sue me."

"What?"

"Muggle expression."

Al shook his head. "I wish you would stop doing that. People think you are strange enough with your weird study habits and your even weirder causes. Talking like a Muggle just makes it worse."

Rose rolled her eyes. "What? Are you mortified to be related to me?"

"Of course not, I'm mortified to be related to James. I'm only embarrassed to be related to you."

"You are so pathetic. I don't see why you care so much what your stupid housemates think. They are all a bunch of wankers. I expect the lot of you will sit around fooling yourselves into thinking that you are hot shit at Hogwarts and making lists of all the birds who want to shag you."

"How did you get a copy of our evening's agenda?" Al exclaimed in mock surprise, which caused Rose to laugh.

When he sat down next to her on the bed, she linked an arm around his shoulders and gave him a tight squeeze. "Thanks for putting up with me in spite of my weird habits and lack of fashion sense."

"Well, I kind of have no choice since you _are_ the favorite girl of my acquaintance and the only reason I am not failing potions and charms class. However, if you get caught tonight I'm tell everyone you casted an _Imperio_ on me."

"Yes, yes, fine. Let's go."

Five minutes later, Rose stood quietly in front of the Floo in the dining room as Scorpius led Al and the other Slytherins to kitchen so they could load up on food and drinks. As soon as everyone was out of ear shot, she began to explore. She checked out the library, the music conservatory, and the entrance hall before she found the room she'd had really come to see – the drawing room. The room where Bellatrix Lestrange had tortured Rose's mother twenty-five years ago while Scorpius' father and grandparents had watched. She had expected the room to feel evil or have some mark upon it to indicate that horrific events had once occurred in it, but it was a perfectly normal room.

The invisibility cloak fell from Rose's head as she looked up at the large crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling. She wondered if it was the same one that had fallen on her mother or if it had been replaced with something that didn't carry the same wicked memories for the Malfoy family.

Rose began to walk around the room trying to imagine where her mother had been standing when her father and Uncle Harry had rushed in to save her. Her concentration was so intense that Malfoy's entrance through a side door didn't even cause her to glance in his direction until he spoke.

"What in the fuck are you doing here, Weasley?"

Rose turned her head in his direction and it immediately occurred to her that Scorpius was just about the same age as his father would have been when her mother was tortured. Would he have been able to stand in this room and watch an innocent person being Cruciated? Would he have spoken out on her behalf even though it went against family's allegiance? Rose didn't know him well enough to judge, but surely Al wouldn't be friends with Malfoy if he held the same blood views as his ancestors.

Scorpius took several steps toward her. "I'm serious, Weasley. Just what in the world do you think that you're doing here? My father will kill me if he finds out that girls snuck into my gathering."

Rose blinked rapidly. "Girl."

"What?"

"Girl, not girls. I think I'm the only girl here."

"I'm not in the mood for a grammar lesson," Scorpius stated angrily. "I want you to leave now. I've got a good mind to throw your good-for-nothing cousin out of the Manor, too. I can't believe he brought you with him.

"Don't blame, Al. I begged him to let me come. I figured it might be my only chance."

"You're only chance for what?" Scorpius asked, looking at her suspiciously. "You aren't going to make a play for Zabini are you? Because believe me, the two of you would never suit. He's much too egotistical and conceited to out with a girl who won't fawn over him night and day."

"I didn't come here to see Zabini, but thanks for the warning," she smiled.

"So why are you here? What possible interest could you have in my home? Or is this like those barmy wartime anniversary tours that start every May when bus loads of pilgrims line up at the gates to catch of a glimpse of Voldemort's old headquarters. I expected better of you Weasley, than to treat my family and my residence as some sort of freak show."

Rose couldn't help but wonder why in the world he would expect better of her. After all, they didn't know each other that well. They never spent time together. Sure, he was friends with Al, but she had a hard time believing that her cousin spent a lot of time talking to Mafoy about her.

"I did want to look around," she admitted.

"Figures," Scorpius said. "I don't know why I expected you to be different... better than the rest."

"I'm not here out of some idle curiosity, Malfoy. I wanted... needed to see this room."

"Why in the hell did you need to see _this_ room?"

"Did you know my parents were brought here by snatchers during the war?" she asked him quietly.

Scorpius nodded curtly. "Everyone knows that. It's in the fifth year history of magic textbook. They were brought here by snatchers, but managed to escape before Voldemort returned."

"Yeah," Rose said looking around the room. "But do you know what happened before they escaped?"

Scorpius shrugged. "They were put in the cellar right?"

Rose shook her head. "My dad and Uncle Harry were locked up. But my mum was kept upstairs in this room while Bellatrix Lestrange tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse."

Scorpius eyes grew large and he looked around the room intently. "Here?"

"Yeah."

"No wonder my dad refuses to ever use it. I always thought it was a bit strange because it is one of the nicest rooms in the house and he isn't one to hide the family wealth under a bushel. Whenever I asked mum, she claimed that it was just one of dad's little quirks."

"Maybe it gives him nightmares remembering what he saw happen here."

Scorpius shook his head. "He couldn't remember it. He was at Hogwarts the year that your folks and Mr. Potter helped bring down Voldemort."

Rose looked at him intently, but didn't respond.

"Rose he wasn't here."

"It was during Easter holiday. He was home."

"Fuck," Scorpius muttered sitting down heavily in a nearby armchair. "You're sure?"

She nodded.

"I always knew that my grandparents were pureblood fanatics and that dad had been raised that way. I just assumed since he hadn't left school when the war ended, he hadn't been too involved... I mean besides trying to kill Albus Dumbledore," he chuckled weakly. "Wishful thinking, I suppose."

Rose smiled sympathetically. "Anyways, I didn't come to gawk or to tell you about any of this. I just wanted to see where it happened. Try to imagine what it must have been like for them."

"Do you feel better having seen it?" Scorpius asked. He looked tired, frustrated, and ashamed.

"Not really. But maybe I will after I process it."

"Right, let me know how that goes."

Rose bent down and picked up the invisibility cloak. "I'm really sorry I snuck in, Scorpius. I won't do it again."

He nodded, but didn't meet her eyes.

Rose flung the cloak over her head and made her way back to the Floo in the dining room.

**New Years Eve 2024**

Scorpius had convinced his parents to allow him to again stay home for the New Years holiday and to host a party for both Slytherin wizards and witches. That hadn't been thrilled with the idea, but he was responsible and an adult and determined so they had eventually consented. Nevertheless, before they left for Morocco dire consequences had been promised should any furniture end up stained or any glassware broken.

The party was a smashing success. Almost all of the sixth and seventh year Slytherins had come bringing with them dates from the other houses. Al had brought Rose. "I can't be your date!" she'd exclaimed when he first mentioned it. "It is too creepy. People will get the wrong idea."

"You are just worried about losing your good girl image and tarnishing your Head Girl badge."

"I don't think it will be any fun. I'm not really friends with any of people in your house but you and Will Decker. And I'm only friends with him because we patrolled together in fifth year. Besides, Dominique and I have tickets to the Celestina Warbeck reunion tour."

"Well, then you should be thanking me for saving you from _that_. Besides Malfoy made me promise to bring you."

"He did?"

Al nodded. "Don't ask me what he's up to. He's plays his cards too close to his chest for me to catch on."

When the pair stepped out of the Floo they had followed the sound of music and talking down the hall and into the drawing room. Al walked in unconcerned and began greeting his friends, but Rose stood frozen in the doorway. How could Scorpius have had a party in this of all rooms? Did he want her here to punish her in some way? Maybe he was showing her that he didn't care about what had happened to her mother, that he would use the room in anyway he wanted without consideration of what it might mean to her and her family.

As the shock started to wear off she glanced around and saw Scorpius standing by a table covered with snacks and drinks. There were two sixth year Slytherin girls on either side of him, who appeared to be flirting. He laughed and seemed to be enjoying the attention, although his eyes constantly scanned the room as if he were looking for something. They eventually landed on her.

Rose wanted to turn around and leave, but was rooted to the spot by the door. She watched Scorpius excuse himself from the girls before coming to her side.

"So what do you think?" he asked, a large smile on this face.

"What do I think?"

"Yeah. Isn't this great? I would have loved to invite more people but Mom put her foot down. They've got some sort of maximum capacity charm on the house to insure that I didn't go too crazy."

Rose nodded jerkily. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, which was stupid. Why did she care if Scorpius Malfoy was a big jerk?

"Are you upset?" he asked staring into her face. "I thought you'd be impressed."

"Why in the world would I be impressed with this?" she asked astounded at his effrontery. "It's disrespectful to throw a stupid party in here and treat this room just like any other place in the house when you know about the horror perpetrated here."

"I suppose that is one way to look at it," Scorpius admitted, shifting on his feet slightly.

"Is there really any other way to see it?"

"Of course," he told her with a tiny smile. "We are clearing all of those old dreadful memories out of this room and replacing them with better ones. I refused to give the actions of an insane woman twenty-five years ago the power to define how I live my life today. What better way to demonstrate that Voldemort lost, than to have this room serve as the location for a group of young pure-bloods, half-bloods, and Muggle-borns to socialize? Think about it Rose, could anything demonstrate more contempt for that old pure-blood ideology, than for the grandson of Lucius Malfoy to spend the night dancing with the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley on the exact spot your mum was tortured for her blood status all those years ago?"

Rose remained silent for several seconds and thought about what Scorpius had said. Was he right? Was it better to treat the Malfoy's drawing room as some sort of mausoleum to what her parents had suffered during the war or to cover the memories of that confrontation with experiences that demonstrated just how far the wizarding world had moved away from the elitist ideology of the past? She finally smiled at Scorpius. "Who said I wanted to spend the evening dancing with you?"

"It doesn't matter if you want to or not," he said with a smirk, "you need to dance with me. Good memories covering the bad and all that."

Rose shook her head, but smiled up at him. "Is this some plot you've developed to get me into your arms?"

Although a slight blush rose over Scorpius cheeks, his mouth quirked up in response. "You've discovered my deep, dark secret, Rose. I've been carrying at torch for you for years and this was the only way I could convince you to give me a go. I figure after dancing with me for several hours, you'll eventually cave in and agree to accompany me on a date."

"You think I'm the type of girl who would be swayed by a talented dancing?"

"Dancing, witty conversation, and my pretty face."

Rose giggled. "Don't push your luck, Scorpius. You can have two dances. That should be enough for you to charm yourself past my defenses."

Scorpius shook his head at her resistance, but nevertheless led her into the middle of the drawing room to join the others who were dancing. Afterwards, Rose grabbed a glass of Firewhiskey and mingled with the other Hogwarts students at the party.

She danced a couple of times with other blokes, but her eyes continued to seek out Scorpius and watch him play host. He moved easily round the room refilling drinks, urging couples to dance, and dancing himself with several unattached witches. This last situation tended to make Rose clench her teeth in annoyance.

As it neared midnight, the guests at Malfoy's party began to pair up. No one wanted to be left without someone to kiss when the clock struck 12. Rose glanced around the room at the single wizards. There was no one remotely attractive; no one who made her heart beat faster. Rather, she had to quickly glance away from Ethan Flint in order to not make eye contact.

She rose and decided that the only way to avoid the embarrassment of being alone when the New Year arrived was to slip off to the loo. Before she made it out of the room, however, Malfoy grabbed her by the wrist. "You aren't taking off now?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I just need to use the ladies room."

"It's going to have to wait," he told her. "It's almost midnight."

"It's an emergency," she said with exasperation.

"No way." Scorpius refused to let go of her wrist and gently pulled her away from the door.

"60 Seconds to Midnight," someone called out with the aid of a _Sonorus_.

"Hadn't you better run off to Charlotte or Judith so you can snog one of them when the clock strikes 12?" Rose asked in exasperation, hoping that her tone did not convey any of the jealousy she was feeling.

"Nope," he replied with a smile. "I'm with the girl I want to kiss at midnight."

Rose's eyes opened wide in shock. "You're lying!"

"I'm offended. Why in the world would I lie about something so potentially important?"

Rose bit her lip. "Why do you think this is potentially important?"

"Because not only do I suspect that kiss from you would go a long way in crushing any of this room's lingering evil memories, but I wasn't lying before when I told you that I'd fancied you for years. I'd like us to date so I could discover if we could be as great a couple as I suspect."

"A couple of what?" Rose replied, her mind fuzzy and unable to process what Scorpius had told her.

Scorpius laughed and released her wrist so he could slide his free arm around her waist. "A couple of school mates..."

"10!" voices shouted.

"A couple of friends..."

"9!"

"A couple of partners..."

"8!"

"Companions…"

"7!"

"Flames…"

"6!"

"Sweethearts…"

"5!"

"Lovers."

"4!"

Rose couldn't breath.

"3!"

She couldn't move.

"2!"

She couldn't see straight.

"1!"

And then his lips were on hers and she was clutching his shoulders and it was so bloody amazing that she couldn't think about anything but how right it felt to be in Scorpius' arms. The party, thoughts of Al and her parents, and even her reputation as Head Girl faded to insignificance compared to the intensity of his kiss.

**New Years Eve 2025**

Rose stepped out of the Floo in Malfoy Manor and was met by silence. There were no loud party noises in background, no male laughter floating down the hallway. There was just silence.

"Scorpius?" she called softly.

They were supposed to meet here before heading to the Leaky Cauldron to celebrate the New Year with Al and his girlfriend. Scorpius was probably still getting dressed. Rose had been amused to discover how long it took him to get ready to leave the house. He made a Muggle prom queen seem careless about her appearance.

Tapping her fingers against the banister, Rose considered going up to his room to hurry him along. It didn't take her long, however, to reject that idea. Should she go upstairs and catch him undressed or even partly undressed, there was a good chance that they wouldn't make it out of the Manor at all that evening.

Instead, she decided to wander down the hall toward the drawing room. The room had been used a couple of times since last year's New Year's Eve party. It had always been at Scorpius' insistence and always over the protests of his father. But for every event held there, Rose felt the power of the room and the shocking evilness of the memories it contained a little less horrifying.

Rose had asked her mum whether or not she minded that Scorpius tried to drive the wickedness out of the Manor by using the drawing room for parties and gatherings that hopefully sent Voldemort spinning in his grave. Her mum had just smiled and given Rose a big hug before explaining that the room wasn't responsible for what had occurred on that night and that she would be a poor excuse for a war hero if she let a mere 'location' cripple her.

Rose could admit now that Scorpius had been right – using the Malfoy's drawing room for cheerful events was freeing. It had pushed away the ghosts and seemingly settled old grudges. In fact, when Rose walked into the room these days it wasn't thoughts about her mum's torture that came to mind, but Rose's own memory of it being the location of her and Scorpius' first kiss.

As she stood in the doorway surveying the room, Scorpius stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing a kiss against her neck, he murmured something so softly it got lost in her hair.

"What?"

"What are you thinking about?

"I was thinking that you take longer to get ready to go out than a group of thirteen year old Hufflepuffs."

"Ha, ha... seriously, what are you thinking about?"

Rose turned around to look at him in the face. "I'm thinking about last New Year's Eve and how you swept me off my feet."

Scorpius grinned. "It was definitely a difficult maneuver. You had too much common sense to just fall for one of my lines. I had to go for sincerity and earnestness."

"Quite a risk," Rose teased, twining her arms around his neck.

"Definitely not my strong points," he agreed, bending his head down to kiss her lips lightly. "You ready to get going?"

"In a moment," she replied. "First tell me something. What is the first thing you think about when you walk into this room?"

He shrugged.

"Scorpius?"

"I get mad. It's just a flash, but its still there. Mad at how stupid pure-blood beliefs used to be... mad that it is part of my family history and that it taints so many of my interactions."

"Not ours."

"Maybe not now, but the first time I caught you in this room it did. We were both suspicious of each other, both offended by what we assumed the other person believed. It's not a good way to go through life."

Rose nodded. "What do you think about after the anger passes?"

"You."

Rose blushed. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think about how lucky I am to have you in my life and just how much I love you."

It was the first time he'd ever said it to her and Rose's heart pounded in her chest. She gasped and pressed her face into his shoulder, holding on to him tightly.

When she hadn't moved or responded for several seconds Scorpius began to get nervous.  
"Rose? Are you alright?"

"Yes," she smiled, despite the tears that ran down her face. "It's just that you've now given me another wonderful memory to think about when I enter this room.

The End


End file.
